Graduation Station

t's graduation season again! Last year, my first posts on this blog were tutorials on graduation-themed crafts, so I thought it was worth reposting . . . along with a cute graduation cupcake tutorial as well. Enjoy!

UPCYCLED DIPLOMA FOLDER GRADUATION SCRAPBOOK

It's been four years since I graduated from college. My college years meant so much to me and I honestly mourned school after I left. Making this little album was a great healing process for me (yes, I'm a total dork). I made it four years ago but I still think it's a pretty cool little idea.

Most diplomas are presented in a fancy folder with the school's seal on top like this one. Once the diploma is out and in a frame, what can you do with these folders?

The inside of my AASU one features a sketch of one of the buildings. When I first saw it I got a little lump in my throat because I recognized it as Gamble Hall, the dusty little English building where I spent most of my hours at AASU. Later I realized, duh, it could be any of the buildings on campus since they all look alike! The sketch endeared me to the folder anyway and I had to find a use for it. I decided to make a photo album out of it.

Since the folder isn't very wide, I was able to only fit six pages (3 page protectors) inside. I chose to make a horizontal album, since the building sketch was horizontal. The album would work just as well vertically if you prefer . . . in fact, you may have an easier time finding 8 x 10 page protectors that are vertical. I used 8 x 10 horizontal page protectors (by SEI--I'm not sure if they still make them, it's been awhile!) and sewed them together on the right side. You can also punch small holes up the sides and tie them together with ribbon also. I hot glued the back of the last page protector to the inside of the folder and voila! A cute, personalized graduation album. You or your graduate will treasure this for years to come . . . I know I do!

Let me know if you make one of your own. Send me links to your blogs . . . I'd love to see how you interpret this project into your own style!

GRADUATION MORTARBOARD CARD

I got the idea from a great book called Creative Card Making for Scrapbookers (by Memory Makers). I've had the book for years and in fact, it was a hand-me-down from a friend. Even though it's old and maybe out of print (Amazon was out), I've gotten endless ideas for cards from this book. This graduation card is just one of many really nice ideas. To make it my own, I added a nice extra element if you're interested. Here's what you'll need:

black cardstock
patterned cardstock
small tassel (I found mine at Hobby Lobby in the decorator fabric section)
black button or large brad
adhesive (Tombo Mono is my fav)
stamp
ink

2.5" x 4.5" strip of white paper (regular or cardstock will work)*
ribbon*
hot glue*
*these are the materials for my "add-on"

Here's the text from the book:

"Begin with two identical square pieces of patterned paper (mine were 4" x 4"); adhere together, patterned sides out. Fold glued square in quarters; crease. Open and fold diagonal so that the square collapses into itself along crease to form square one-quarter the size of the whole. Adhere black cardstock squares to top and bottom of folded form. Adorn with button and tassel to complete mortarboard. Stamp sentiment inside card. (by Jodi Amidei)"

I slipped my tassel on a big brad and pushed it through a black square BEFORE I glued it to the patterned paper. I also wet embossed the "Congratulations" for a little more texture. Here's what it looks like when you open it.


I just love how it pops open, sort of like origami.

Once I made the card, I realized that I had no room to write a note. (No, seriously. I didn't figure that out until it was time to write a message!) So I wrote a small note, rolled it up, tied it with a ribbon and glued it to the top of the card to make a little diploma. Here's how to do it:

Write your note on the slip of paper. Starting at the BOTTOM of the note (that's important!), roll up the slip of paper around a pen.

While the scroll of paper is still wrapped around the pen, tie a ribbon around it.

Squeeze a line of hot glue at the very top of the scroll (just inside the top edge). Push the diploma on a corner of the mortarboard card. Now, when your graduate opens the ribbon, your note should spring open! Cool, eh?

GRADUATION CUPCAKES

A couple of girls at my church just graduated high school, so I wanted to make them a treat. I found these ideas online . . . I LOVE the internet. Check out these cupcakes!

I actually changed a few of the ingredients. I used a Ghiradelli caramel square for the top of the cap rather than a chocolate-covered graham cracker . . . I thought the cracker would be too heavy (not to mention not the right scale!). The cap was made by "gluing" the square and a mini Reese's cup with melting chocolate, then gluing a Fruit Roll-up tassel to a mini blue M & M. (If you want to make these, I suggest using a toothpick as a dowel . . . the cap is pretty heavy, and won't stay put!) The diploma, in the original recipe was made with fondant . . . uh, I've never worked with that stuff, so I found these new Golden Oreo straws that I covered in white chocolate . . . and the ribbon is again, Fruit Roll-ups. Everything went very well, except the frosting. I suspected I made it too thin, not to mention it was a super humid, rainy day. The frosting totally fell, so that's why it looks so pathetic in the picture! Anyway, I thought they came out really cute. (BTW, I have worked with fondant since then and it's not so bad . . . but I think the Golden Oreo sticks--if you can still find them--are much tastier)

Curioser and Curioser

Sorry it's been awhile. I'm up to my ears in projects. In celebration of the LDS Temple in Atlanta being rededicated, the youth are performing for the leader of our church, President Monson. I've been asked to be a dance coordinator which entails teaching teenagers choreographed numbers . . . not the easiest task but it should be fun. So I'll be doing that for two months. Then, I'm trying to finish a screenplay for the Nicholl Fellowship Competition. The deadline is May 2nd. Did I mention I'm also trying to potty-train my toddler? Or that my husband is on a three week business trip? Have I squeezed any sympathy from you yet?

ANYWAY, I had to share a project I tried the other week. I got it from The Felt Mouse blog and it was really easy and neat. It's a tutorial for an Eyeglass Brooch. As Jennifer points out, all old eyeglasses should be donated to the Lions Club or other organizations that collect used glasses for those in need. I got my lens from an old pair of my mom's reading glasses . . . she buys a pair, loses them, then buys another pair. This happens about every other week so she has lots and lots of glasses! If you don't have any old ones laying around, plenty of stores carry reading glasses for cheap (some even for $1!).

I followed Jennifer's directions, only I used E-6000 as my adhesive instead of Diamond Glaze. From the look of it, I think E-6000 is much easier to use. It's a gel and so it doesn't run. I just squirted a generous amount on the inside of the lens and evened it out with a foam brush. I did have a few air bubbles but I still like it. I used an illustration from a copy of "Alice in Wonderland" and I love how it turned out. Instead of painting the back of the brooch like Jennifer, I coated the back with matte ModgePodge (one of my favorite things in the entire world! LOVE that stuff!) so the text of the page showed.

I still felt the brooch looked unfinished so I glued a blue ribbon around the edge and tied a bunny charm to the top. It still looked a little off so I glued a ruffle as well. It's a little more fussy than I intended but I think it all works.

Going along with the Alice-themed post, I've got to brag on my "Alice in Wonderland" book purse. Yeah, yeah it's cute and all but what I'm really proud about is the button closure. It's ELASTIC! I finally made a button closure I can be proud of! I usually use ribbon but it's kind of a hassle to get on and off. I didn't want to use just plain elastic because it's not cute and it could get caught and tear. So I made a little tube of fabric to protect the elastic and frankly, it's just cute because it matches with the rest of the bag. YAY! Every bag with a button closure will now have a fantastic elastic loop. I'm in the process of "updating" my current bags so they all have elastic loops, too. I'm just so happy my bags are functional as well as cute. That's very important to me.

Magnifying Glass Card Tutorial

I came up with this little design last year. I had a customer who bought a Hercule Poirot Purse from me and I made a set of cards for them. I was the most happy with the magnifying glass card. This technique is perfect not only for cards but for journaling and scrapbooking too.

Here's what you'll need:

2-3 sheets white cardstock
glue (I prefer Tombo Mono)
*Glossy Accents
2 inch chipboard circle
pop dots


First, choose what text you'd like to "magnify." I found a description of Hercule Poirot online, copied and pasted it into a Word document twice. Make sure you have 2 separate copies of each description. I made one paragraph in a 10 point font, then the other one in a 20 point font. Obviously, the bigger paragraph will be your magnifying glass. I made the difference between the two fonts very exaggerated because I wanted to emphasize one word. Play with the size of your fonts until you achieve your desired look. Keep in mind what words you want magnified.

Next, print off both copies of the text (try to keep them both on one page if they fits). While you are on the computer, print out this magnifying glass handle on another sheet of cardstock:


Using a circle cutter or your chipboard circle as a guide, cut a 2 inch circle out of the "magnified" text, making sure to include what words you want emphasized. This may take trial and error . . . if you have very specific sentences you want in the magnifying glass, you may want to draw a circle in your Word program and type the sentences in the circle, so nothing is left out. (For more info, leave me a comment or email me with details.) Next, glue the cardstock circle onto the chipboard circle.


Here is the tricky part: gently squeeze a large dollop of Glossy Accents onto the cardstock and spread it all over the circle. Pop any air bubbles with a needle. It won't be perfect, but that's okay! Let it dry overnight. (It will dry faster than that, but it's better to be safe than sorry!)

*If you don't have Glossy Accents or don't like using it, you could always use transparency paper instead . . . cut it into a 2 inch circle and lay it on top. I personally hate working with transparency since it's so difficult to not get fingerprints all over it. Different strokes for different folks, I guess!

Once the Glossy Accents is dry, cut out the magnifying glass handle out of cardstock. Glue the circle in place on top of the smaller block of text. Try to place it as accurately as you can . . . again, it won't be perfect but it's all good! Make sure to also leave plenty of room for the handle of the magnifying glass.


Get out your pop dots and place them on the handle of the wrong side of the magnifying glass handle. Add some regular glue or adhesive to the circle part of the handle. Gently place the handle on the paper and make sure it adheres to the circle. And . . . voila! A fun, inventive little project that requires some trial and error but it'll pay off in the end!

Shopcology

It's been about 3 weeks since I put my Etsy shop up and I haven't sold a thing.

I'm not sure what I expected or what I'm expecting. All I know is that when I post a new item, I spend the next 6 hours constantly checking my shop to see how many views and hearts I'm getting (or not getting). It's not normal. I think subconsciously I believe if I stare at it long enough I can will someone to buy one of my purses or cards. I kept telling my hub last week, "If I can just sell one, I can buy so many more supplies!" I'm not made out of money (obviously, since I write screenplays and make purses out of books for "a living") and my resources are depleting. Yes, selling one purse would make it all okay . . . I would feel less guilty about the money I've spent on supplies. I would have more confidence in what I'm doing. Or would one sale make a difference?

I began to think about it (okay, I've been doing nothing BUT think about my shop!) and I realized that no, one purse wouldn't do it. I'm very in tune with the vibrations of the universe (that's a joke, by the way) so I can tell you now . . . if I sell one purse, it won't solve my self esteem issues. It wouldn't even begin to make up for the money I've spent so far. I would be happy for all of thirty seconds until I freaked out about if I'm doing the shipping right, or if the person won't like the purse when they get it in person, and most of all . . . when am I going to sell ANOTHER purse?

I would like to blame these insane thoughts on Etsy itself. While there are lots of things I love about the Etsy culture, there are a lot of things I don't like. I'm starting to believe you have to live on Etsy to sell thing one. I suspect some sellers have found a way to "Tron" their way into Etsy and literally live there like it's some sort of virtual time share. That's the only explanation I can offer for the people that are filling their shops with items nonstop.


I don't have the luxury of making and posting things 24/7. I have a lot of health issues (not to mention a rascally toddler I have to keep my eye on constantly) I don't have the time, money or energy to put items up every day. I went into this project with the attitude, "I'll do what I can and if people like it, they'll buy it." Obviously, I'm not the business gal. I'm not a numbers gal.

I'm a craft gal. A creative gal. I'm more interested in making beautiful, unique and practical things. It's unfortunated to see that many people on Etsy obviously spend more time on marketing than actually creating. It's even more unfortunate that a lot of those guys are the ones making sales!

And that makes me feel like crap. It's beyond frustrating for me to see people selling similar things that are not well made. Fancy photography can only do so much . . . I've looked at plenty of product pictures and seen unbelievable flaws. If that wasn't bad enough, some sellers are flat-out liars. I was shocked at some of the things one seller in particular claimed . . . I'm not going to go into it but let's just say at least half of their FAQs answers were so false that anyone could Google and figure out within 30 seconds that those seller's pants are definitely on fire. I strongly recommend researching a handmade item on Etsy before you buy it . . . sometimes the product description is more "creative" than the product itself!



As much as I would like to blame my lack of sales on other people or on other factors, this isn't about them. I can't change what they do. Really, this is about me. I can't change the fact that I'm sick. I can't change the fact I don't have the resources other people have. I'm honestly doing the best I can to make high quality purses and sell them . . . I'm not sure there is more to do to improve them. However, I can change what my definition of success is. My self esteem should not be hanging on whether I have hearts, views or sales. I love making purses and cards and I feel an extreme sense of pride when I finish them. Really, at this point, that's all I can do. And that should be enough. When I really thought about all this, I decided to change my "Bio" page on Etsy to reflect my honest feelings on this whole crazy business. Here's what I wrote:

I'm supposed to be a writer. I should be writing books, not tearing them up.

I am a screenwriter. I write screenplays but I have yet to sell one. Last year, one of my scripts made it to the quarterfinals in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (The "Oscar" people) Nicholl Fellowship Screenwriting Competition. It's a big deal. Unfortunately, I have yet to sign a big deal.

It's a frustrating choice of vocation. Writing screenplays is like designing the blueprints for a building you never see built. It's the business of making plans without the ability to follow them through. Then these book purses came along.

Almost a year ago, I saw an article in "Country Living" (I live for that mag!) on how to make book purses. I immediately ran upstairs, grabbed an old Shakespeare textbook and gleefully tore out the pages (take THAT, Dr. Baker!). A couple of hours and hot glue gun burns later, I had a fabulous (if imperfect) purse. To this day I carry that purse around and get compliments and questions literally every time I carry it.

While I'm still plugging away at screenwriting, it's so rewarding to have something else that I can see through from beginning to end. Each of these purses reflect my love of story and history, my quirkiness and my unique fashion sense. I'm also very grateful to have a platform to share my silly cards that I've been making for years and years. (Confession: Sometimes it take me longer to make one card than an entire purse! I just can't control myself . . .)

I'm in my mid-twenties and right now and I'm not where I thought I would be when I graduated college four years ago. I have a lot of health issues coupled with financial issues (who doesn't?). My circumstances don't reflect who I am as a person . . . but my craft, my scripts, my purses and my cards, do. What a blessing to have creativity in my life! So, yes. I will continue to rip apart books in the name of expression and sanity. Wanna come along?

Unfortunately, I'm a total nutjob and rational thoughts like these are few and far between. That's why I need to write them and post them for all (all three of you) so I have some feeling of responsibility to carry the new attitude through. We'll see.

I would be totally remiss to not thank all my friends and family for the support they've given me in this loopy endeavor. Also, thank you to all those in Etsyland who have hearted me . . . it means so much to have such great talents take notice of lil' ol' BiblioBags. It's been a hard ride so far, but I would do it all over again!

The pictures throughout the post are the "making-of" my Edward Cullen (or Robert Pattinson for the purists who don't accept him as the "real" Edward) linoblock. It was my first linocut portrait, so cut me some slack! ;)